Clopidogrel with Aspirin versus Aspirin Alone following Intravenous Thrombolysis in Minor Stroke: A 1-Year Follow-Up Study.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the long-term effect of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) using clopidogrel plus aspirin versus aspirin monotherapy after intravenous thrombolysis on functional outcomes in patients with minor stroke.

Methods: Patients with acute ischemic stroke with a National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score ≤ 5 who received either DAPT or aspirin monotherapy following recombinant tissue plasminogen activator intravenous thrombolysis were studied. Data recorded between January 2017 and December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed.

FLAIR vascular hyperintensity predicts early neurological deterioration in patients with acute ischemic stroke receiving endovascular thrombectomy.

Fluid-attenuated inversion recovery vascular hyperintensity (FVH) is frequently observed in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). FVH is associated with functional outcome at 3 months in AIS patients receiving endovascular thrombectomy. In the present study, we assessed whether FVH predicted early neurological deterioration (END) and hemorrhagic transformation (HT) within 72 h in AIS patients receiving endovascular thrombectomy.

Prediction-Driven Decision Support for Patients With Mild Stroke: A Model Based on Machine Learning Algorithms.

Treatment for mild stroke remains an open question. We aim to develop a decision support tool based on machine learning (ML) algorithms, called DAMS (Disability After Mild Stroke), to identify mild stroke patients who would be at high risk of post-stroke disability (PSD) if they only received medical therapy and, more importantly, to aid neurologists in making individual clinical decisions in emergency contexts. Ischemic stroke patients were prospectively recorded in the National Advanced Stroke Center of Nanjing First Hospital (China) between July 2016 and September 2020.

Clinical significance of stroke nurse in patients with acute ischemic stroke receiving intravenous thrombolysis.

Background: Reports have proven that shorter door-to-needle time (DTN time) indicates better outcomes in AIS patients received intravenous thrombolysis. Efforts have been made by hospitals and centers to minimize DTN time in many ways including introducing a stroke nurse. However, there are few studies to discuss the specific effect of stroke nurse on patients' prognosis.

Endovascular Treatment With and Without Intravenous Thrombolysis in Large Vessel Occlusions Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Previous studies have shown conflicting results about the benefits of pretreatment with intravenous thrombolysis before endovascular treatment (EVT) in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) with large vessel occlusions (LVOs). This study aimed to investigate the clinical efficacy and safety of EVT alone vs. bridging therapy (BT) in patients with AIS with LVOs.

Combined therapy of intensive statin plus intravenous rt-PA in acute ischemic stroke: the INSPIRE randomized clinical trial.

Objective: To investigate the safety and efficacy of intensive statin in the acute phase of ischemic stroke after intravenous thrombolysis therapy.

Methods: A total of 310 stroke patients treated with rt-PA were randomly scheduled into the intensive statin group (rosuvastatin 20 mg daily × 14 days) and the control group (rosuvastatin 5 mg daily × 14 days). The primary clinical endpoint was excellent functional outcome (mRS ≤ 1) at 3 months, and the primary safety endpoint was symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) in 90 days.

The lncRNA Malat1 functions as a ceRNA to contribute to berberine-mediated inhibition of HMGB1 by sponging miR-181c-5p in poststroke inflammation.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been identified as essential mediators in neurological dysfunction. Our previous study shows that berberine (BBR) hampers the nuclear-to-cytosolic translocation of high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) in the process of poststroke inflammation. In this study, we explored the role of lncRNA metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (Malat1) in the process of BBR-induced inhibition of HMGB1 in ischemic brain.

External Validation of START nomogram to predict 3-Month unfavorable outcome in Chinese acute stroke patients.

Background: Recently, the NIHSS STroke Scale score, Age, pre-stroke mRS score, onset-to-treatment Time (START nomogram) predicts 3-month functional outcome after intravenous thrombolysis in ischemic stroke patients. However, this model has not yet been an external validation. We aim to validate the performance of START nomogram.

A COACHS Nomogram to Predict the Probability of Three-Month Unfavorable Outcome after Acute Ischemic Stroke in Chinese Patients.

Background: Accurate prognostication of unfavorable outcome made at the early onset of stroke is important to both the clinician and the patient management. This study was aimed to develop a nomogram based on the integration of parameters to predict the probability of 3-month unfavorable functional outcome in Chinese acute ischemic stroke patients.

Methods: We retrospectively collected patients who underwent acute ischemic stroke at Stroke Center of the Nanjing First Hospital (China) between May 2013 and May 2018.

Low triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio predicts hemorrhagic transformation in large atherosclerotic infarction of acute ischemic stroke.

The ratio of triglyceride (TG) to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) is an objective approach to predicting poor outcomes in acute ischemic stroke (AIS). The impact of TG/HDL-C on hemorrhagic transformation (HT) after AIS remains unknown. The aim of this study was to explore the accurate effect of TG/HDL-C on HT after AIS.

Soluble TREM1 concentrations are increased and positively correlated with total tau levels in the plasma of patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Background/aims: Recently, we showed that triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 1 (TREM1) was involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) since it modulated microglial phagocytic functions and thus affected amyloid-β clearance in the brain. Interestingly, a soluble form of TREM1 (sTREM1) can be detected in the plasma of human. To date, whether sTREM1 concentrations were altered in the plasma under AD context remained unclear.

Sex differences in clinical characteristics and 1-year outcomes of young ischemic stroke patients in East China.

Background: Data concerning sex differences in clinical characteristics and outcomes of young ischemic stroke (IS) patients in Eastern China are scarce. Understanding sex differences in clinical characteristics and long-term outcomes of young IS patients might provide valuable evidence for designing preventative measures and therapeutic interventions.

Methods: The study included 228 acute IS patients aged up to 50 years recruited in the prospective Nanjing First Hospital Stroke Registry over a 5-year period.

Berberine attenuates ischemia-reperfusion injury through inhibiting HMGB1 release and NF-κB nuclear translocation.

Inflammatory damage plays an important role in cerebral ischemic pathogenesis and represents a new target for treatment of stroke. Berberine is a natural medicine with multiple beneficial biological activities. In this study, we explored the mechanisms underlying the neuroprotective action of berberine in mice subjected transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO).

Involvement of angiotensin-(1-7) in the neuroprotection of captopril against focal cerebral ischemia.

Accumulating evidence suggests that brain angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)/angiotensin II/angiotensin II type I receptor axis is activated and thus contributes to the neuronal injury during ischemic stroke. Conversely, inhibition of this axis using centrally active ACE inhibitor captopril was proven neuroprotective in rodents with focal cerebral ischemia. Interestingly, captopril was able to increase angiotensin-(1-7) [Ang-(1-7)] levels in the peripheral organs.

PM2.5 exposure aggravates oligomeric amyloid beta-induced neuronal injury and promotes NLRP3 inflammasome activation in an in vitro model of Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Numerous studies suggested that PM2.5 exposure was associated with increased risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD). But the precise mechanisms by which PM2.

TREM2 Ameliorates Neuronal Tau Pathology Through Suppression of Microglial Inflammatory Response.

As a recently identified susceptibility gene for Alzheimer's disease (AD), triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) encodes an immune receptor that is uniquely expressed on microglia, functioning as a modulator of microglial functions including phagocytosis and inflammatory response. Several lines of evidence suggest that TREM2 is upregulated and positively correlates with tau pathology in the brains of AD patients. Meanwhile, our recent study showed that knockdown of TREM2 markedly exacerbated neuronal tau hyperphosphorylation in the brains of P301S-tau transgenic mice, implying that TREM2 might exert a protective role against tau pathology under AD context.

Up-regulation of angiotensin-converting enzyme in response to acute ischemic stroke via ERK/NF-κB pathway in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Cerebral ischemic stroke is usually caused by a temporary or permanent decrease in blood supply to the brain. Despite general progress in diagnosis and treatment, the prognosis of stroke is still unsatisfactory, and more detailed potential mechanisms are needed to investigate underlying the pathological process. Here, we showed that serum angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) concentration was positively correlated with infarct volume after acute ischemic stroke (AIS).

Collateral vessels on magnetic resonance angiography in endovascular-treated acute ischemic stroke patients associated with clinical outcomes.

Purpose: Collateral vessels were considered to be related with outcome in endovascular-treated acute ischemic stroke patients. This study aimed to evaluate whether the collateral vessels on magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) could predict the clinical outcome.

Materials And Methods: Acute stroke patients with internal carotid artery or middle cerebral artery occlusion within 6 hours of symptom onset were included.

Azilsartan ameliorates apoptosis of dopaminergic neurons and rescues characteristic parkinsonian behaviors in a rat model of Parkinson's disease.

Loss of dopaminergic neurons within the substantia nigra (SN) is a pathological hallmark of Parkinson's disease (PD), which leads to the onset of motor symptoms. Previously, our in vitro studies revealed that Angiotensin II (Ang II) induced apoptosis of dopaminergic neurons through its type 1 receptor (AT1R), but these findings needed to be confirmed via animal experiments. Here, using a rotenone-induced rat model of PD, we observed an overactivation of Ang II/AT1R axis in the SN, since Ang II level and AT1R expression were markedly increased.

Common Polymorphisms Within QPCT Gene Are Associated with the Susceptibility of Schizophrenia in a Han Chinese Population.

A recent genome-wide association study conducted in Caucasians has identified glutaminyl-peptide cyclotransferase (QPCT) gene as a susceptibility gene for schizophrenia, as its common single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs2373000 was significantly associated with the risk of this disease. To date, this finding has not been validated in other populations or ethnic groups. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of common SNPs spanning QPCT gene with the susceptibility of schizophrenia in a Han Chinese population comprising 440 schizophrenia patients and 450 control subjects.

TREM2 p.H157Y Variant and the Risk of Alzheimer's Disease: A Meta-Analysis Involving 14,510 Subjects.

We recently revealed that p.H157Y (rs2234255), a rare coding variant of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 gene (TREM2), was associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) susceptibility in Han Chinese. Contrastingly, although p.

TREM1 facilitates microglial phagocytosis of amyloid beta.

As the most common type of neurodegenerative disease, Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the accumulation of amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) within the brain. Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells (TREM) 1 is an immune receptor expressed by mononuclear phagocytes including monocytes and microglia, coupling with TYRO protein tyrosine kinase binding protein to regulate immune reactions. Emerging evidence indicates that rs6910730, an intronic variant of TREM1, is associated with an increased Aβ neuropathology in the brains of elderly subjects, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.

Mitochondrial-dependent mechanisms are involved in angiotensin II-induced apoptosis in dopaminergic neurons.

Introduction: We recently demonstrated that angiotensin II (Ang II) was involved in the etiology of Parkinson's disease (PD) via induction of apoptosis of dopaminergic neurons, but the mechanisms are not completely elucidated. Here, we asked whether mitochondrial-dependent mechanisms contributed to the Ang II-induced dopaminergic neuronal apoptosis.

Materials And Methods: CATH.

Independent Correlation of Serum Homocysteine with Cerebral Microbleeds in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke due to Large-Artery Atherosclerosis.

Background And Aim: The severity of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) affected the prognosis of patients with acute cerebrovascular disease. Considering the impact of CMBs on clinical decision, it is necessary to assess the risk factors of CMBs. We aimed to evaluate the independent risk factors of CMBs in patients with acute ischemic stroke of large-artery atherosclerosis.